Great Schisms of Old Heaven
The Great Schisms of Old Heaven were a series of three great schisms that split Heaven and the Angels within it. Overview The First Great Schism The First Great Schism occurred around the year 4000 BFI, and resulted in the first of Heaven's civil wars. Not much is known about what caused it, but it resulted in the unified rule of Heaven under a single High Archangel, known as the Archon and the establishment of the Divine Council. It lasted approximately 500 years. The Second Great Schism The Second Great Schism occurred around the year 2900 BFI, and was a result of Angels being divided upon what to do about the newly discovered Humans after both Angels and Demons gained the ability to enter Eden. The argument was whether or not to begin The End War and wipe out the Humans on Eden to establish a rule there. One side argued that Heaven's forces combined could destroy the Humans too quickly for the Demons to mount a counterattack before a rule was established on Eden by the Angels, while the other claimed that there would be a devastating loss of life on all sides and that Heaven was not ready for The End War at this time. The Schism ends without a civil war when the Archon agrees that triggering The End War this early would be a mistake that could cost the Angels greatly, and established a more or less peaceful relationship between Angels and Humans, as well as an agreement with the Demons to not invade Eden so long as the other side also does not. It was the least violent of the Great Schisms and only lasted a few years. The Third Great Schism The Third Great Schism took place around the year 2100 BFI, and began after the discovery of the Trinity Weapons, and was an argument over how to use them. Once again, beginning The End War was considered with the great power of these weapons, which could possibly defeat both Humans and Demons very quickly. However, once again objections were posed against this which argued that a combined force of both Humand and Demons would still take a great toll on the Angels, and furthermore that the Trinity Weapons were sacred and should not be used for war. The Archon himself turned tyrannical, and when the Archangels learned of the Archon's plans to use them to destroy Eden and Hell, a small number of them secretly hit the Trinity Weapons away from him to make sure that nobody could use them. Civil war broke out shortly after, resulting in the deadliest conflict Heaven ever suffered. The successive Archons continued the war in search of the Trinity Weapons, when a lone Archangel found them. He used the power of the True Cross to completely annihilate the forces of the Archon and end the civil war immediately. After the dust had settled, he re-established the rule of the Archon, but also reformed the system with a set of checks and balances, establishing the positions of the three High Archangels around the Archon, with all the other Archangels beneath them to ensure that the Archon could never turn tyrannical again. Further, he entrusted one Trinity Weapon each to the three High Archangels and made them beholden mostly to the Divine Council instead of the Archon himself. The Third Great Schism was the deadliest and most catastrophic event in Heaven's entire history, lasting a full 1000 years and resulting in the deaths of millions of Angels, constituting a large fraction of the entire race. It is because of this event that no civil war would ever happen again in the future, and the entire government of Heaven changed from Monarchical to Democratic. Category:EWO Lore